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“IF THBEEHSOETUSINE OISRTDOER,
WITWOHNITTEHHHCEETAPHMNRENUEPOSSATTESNBBTEET.”,GGIINN

— JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN

4 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY

TOAFCBLOENTENTS

4 6 7 8 21

WELCOME LETTER MESSAGES FROM TULSA EVENT HOSTS GREENWOOD PLANNING
FROM SENATOR EVENT HOSTS MISTRESS OF RISING COMMITTEE
MATTHEWS CEREMONIES
31 38
22 24 25
BLACK WALL STREET BLACK COMMERCE
VIP RECEPTION & ECONOMIC GENERAL SESSION AGENDA & SPEAKER STREET AGENDA &
SPEAKER BIOS EMPOWERMENT DAY AGENDA & SPEAKER BIOS SPEAKER BIOS
PROGRAM OVERVIEW BIOS
47
56 57 61 62
BLACK WEALTH
STREET AGENDA & BENEFICIARIES SPONSORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THANK YOU FOR
SPEAKER BIOS YOUR SUPPORT

MESSAGES FROM EVENT HOSTS

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION HILL HARPER a national dialogue for economic justice the courage and vision of those Black leaders
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY and Black financial empowerment. As we who braved the unimaginable a century
Founder/CEO, TheBlackWallStreet.com interact and listen to speeches and panels, ago, while uplifting Black leaders today who
Award-winning Actor, Best-selling Author we encourage everyone to walk away with wish to re-imagine, re-develop and re-build
and Philanthropist a renewed understanding and an extended Black Wall Street and bolster Black economic
A little less than two weeks ago, the network as we aim to curate a space that truly power across many different areas.
incredibly courageous Mother Fletcher informs, uplifts and inspires.
traveled from Tulsa and sat before the US Thank you to all who attend, in person or ERIC STEVENSON
Congress and said these words: “...I still see online. We hope you leave with renewed
Black businesses being burned. I still hear hope and determination that Black economic President, Nationwide Retirement
airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. empowerment and cross generational Solutions, Nationwide
I have lived through the massacre every day. wealth is within our reach again. Our vision It’s an honor to serve as a co-host along
Our country may forget this history, but I is to keep the legacy of The Black Wall Street with Hill Harper and Ron Parker, where
cannot. I am 107-year-old and have never alive, and I am personally grateful to take our goal is to prepare you with actionable
seen justice. I pray that one day I will. No part in supporting that mission for Black plans, meaningful connections and a fresh
one cared about us for almost 100 years. Tulsans and Black communities across the perspective on how we can work together to
We, and our history, have been forgotten. country. Mother Fletcher deserves to see address the racial wealth gap in our country.
Washed away. This Congress must recognize justice; let’s collectively deliver that for her I got involved with this event following a tour
us.” When I saw her courage and strength, and so many more. of the Greenwood District in Tulsa with the
I was moved to tears. We gather today in University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. As
hopes of fighting for economic justice for RONALD C. PARKER a native Oklahoman and a financial services
Mother Fletcher and all Tulsa Race Massacre leader, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and
survivors and descendants. It is imperative President and CEO, National Association of Black Wall Street inspired me to dig into
that we remember not only the victims Securities Professionals (NASP) this rich history and how we can apply those
of the horrible tragedy, but the survivors The Tulsa Massacre which occurred exactly learnings.
and descendants whose families had the one hundred years ago has been a symbol From the outset, the team wanted to embrace
opportunity for generational wealth stolen of grave economic injustice, disrupting the how we can turn a tragedy that happened a
from them. I truly believe that we cannot have success and progress of communities of century ago into triumph today. This focus
social justice without economic justice. In that color, for a century now. It was the hallmark was a perfect way to blend professional
spirit, today’s event is about Black Economic of hard work and success of Black Commerce expertise and passion to address financial
Empowerment. that transcended its era of Jim Crow and disparities for Black business owners,
We are here to humbly listen and reflect racial restrictions. This experience has and investors and individuals.
and then act for economic empowerment will continue to be a galvanizing force for Thank you for joining us in this important
and justice for Tulsa’s Black community and racial justice and economic inclusion for national conversation full of discovery and
Black communities across this country who decades to come. reflection as we use yesterday’s lessons to
also had some version of thriving “Black The Tulsa Black Wall Street Economic accelerate the path forward towards a more
Wall Streets” destroyed by overt, covert and Empowerment Day is structured to highlight financially secure future for all.
systemic racism. Through this gathering,
we seek to bring a spotlight to and catalyze

6

TULSA EVENT HOSTS

SAMUEL COMBS III E. PAUL SAMUELS

President and CEO of COMSTAR Senior Vice President & Wealth
Advisors, LLC Advisor, Morgan Stanley

MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
KIM JACKSON
Anchor/Reporter, KTUL Channel 8
From the time she was just a young girl, Kim Jackson had a natural
curiosity. Kim and her younger sister were known to ask a person a
million questions, in a matter of minutes. It surprised no one when
she decided to become a journalist.
Kim completed her college degree at the University of Tulsa.
Today she is an anchor/reporter at KTUL Channel 8, with the
charge of asking the tough questions for the sake of children in
our community.
Kim is an award winning journalist, with strong ties to the
community, as a graduate of Central High school and of the
University of Tulsa.
Kim has covered the Race Massacre since the late 1990s when she
had the chance to interview several survivors, as they told their
stories for the first time.

7

LEALVEEGAACY

GREENWOOD RISING

“Greenwood Rising,” will tell the story of the original Black
Wall Street and reconnect this iconic African American
enclave. Designed by Local Projects, a New York firm who
helped design the 911 Museum and curated by author/
historian Hannibal B. Johnson.

The overarching theme for Greenwood Rising, “The

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION Human Spirit,” speaks to the dignity of a people who PHIL ARMSTRONG
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY turned trials, tribulations, and tragedy into a triumph. Project Director
Greenwood Rising will feature three galleries: (1) Gallery 2021 Tulsa Race Massacre
#1 will focus on the remarkable human spirit of the Centennial Commission

independent black community of Greenwood in the early 1900s; (2) Gallery #2 focuses

on the 1921 race massacre within the national context of the period and the resilience

of the community which rebuilt Greenwood as a thriving business community, only to

eventually be destroyed by a confluence of social and economic factors; and (3) Gallery

#3 will center on the road to reconciliation, with space for dialogue to facilitate learning

among school and other tour groups.

8

The Hille Foundation and 21 North Greenwood, LLC, already in the process of
developing the land, halted construction and moved the site of a planned mixed-use
building to donate the land to the Centennial Commission.

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSIONON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND in
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY1921, as Jim Crow segregation
laws seized the country, rumors

about a young Black man
sexually assaulting a white
woman in an elevator sparked a
frenzy in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

10

As the racial tension escalated, a white TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
mob descended on the city’s Greenwood 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
neighborhood, a highly prosperous
area known as “Black Wall Street,” and
committed among the United States’ most
egregious acts of racial terror, looting
businesses and burning entire city blocks.

11

12 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY

After the massacre, estimates would cite as many as 300 Black Tulsans TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
killed from the violence – some likely from firebombs dropped by private 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
airplanes – and as many as 10,000 left homeless. Greenwood lay in ashes.

13



Before it burned, Greenwood was among the wealthiest TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
and most vibrant Black neighborhoods in the country. 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Soon after the massacre, the neighborhood started
rebuilding, and by the early 1940s hundreds of businesses
had returned. But in the 1960s – as in Black areas around
the country – new integration laws and urban renewal
projects divided communities and decimated business

15

In subsequent decades, 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
integration, urban renewal, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY

and economic changes
sparked a prodigious

decline in the Greenwood
District. Despite this

recession, Tulsa’s African
Americans held fast to hope.

Preservation, restoration,
and reconciliation became

community watchwords.
Healing history took
center stage.

16

GREENWOOD
RISING

Recent years have brought a fledgling TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
artistic and economic renaissance 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
to Greenwood –referenced to it as a
kind of “Harlem Renaissance” – as
residents have opened new hotels and
shops and started collectives, often
with an eye to reconnecting with the
neighborhood’s storied past.

17

18 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY

A new partnership has been announced TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
in bringing a Tulsa-born Fire in Little 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Africa album to the world.

Fire in Little Africa is a groundbreaking
album of original material that was
written and recorded by a collective
of Oklahoma hip hop artists to
commemorate the 100th anniversary
of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

19

Olivia Juliette Hooker (February 12, 1915 – November1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
21, 2018) was an American psychologist and professor.ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY

She was one of the last known survivors of the Tulsa
race massacre of 1921, and the first African-American
woman to enter the U.S. Coast Guard in February 1945.

20

PLANNING COMMITTEE

HOSTS / EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Nicole Ridley
Financial Services Leadership Rotational
Eric Stevenson Phil Armstrong Program Manager Associate, Nationwide
President, Nationwide Retirement Project Manager, 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Solutions, Nationwide Centennial Commission Miguel Thames
Founder & Managing Partner, T.I.G. Advisory
Hill Harper Carlotta Baker & Board Member, NASP
Founder/CEO, TheBlackWallStreet.com Senior Event Planner, tbg Events
Award-winning Actor, Best-selling Author, Aaron Whigham
Philanthropist Judy Chang Cody Director of Programs, Atento Capital
Principal, Cody Marketing LLC
Ronald C. Parker Eddie Yoon
President and CEO, National Association Tammy Dickerson, CMP Founder, EddieWouldGrow
of Securities Professionals (NASP) Event Producer & Strategic Marketing
Consultant, tbg Events MARKETING/PR COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Samuel Combs III
President and CEO of COMSTAR Marcelia Freeman Clarence V. Boyd, III
Advisors, LLC Vice President, Clearlake Capital Investor Program Officer, The Commemoration Fund,
Relations & Board Member, NASP Zarrow Families Foundation
E. Paul Samuels
Senior Vice President & Wealth Advisor, Marshay Hall Judy Chang Cody
Morgan Stanley Director of Communications and Principal, Cody Marketing LLC
Programming, NASP

Jill Hawkins Erika Huffman
Project Manager – Speaker Liaison, tbg Events Public Relations Associate, Schnake Turnbo
Frank
Charon James
Project Manager - Registration, tbg Events Hannah Jackson
Senior Vice President, Schnake Turnbo Frank
D’Andrea Kinley
Consultant, Nationwide Retirement Institute Jessica Lowe-Betts
Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, ONEOK

Judy Neyman Ellen Mrukowski TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Project Manager – Virtual Program Manager, Senior Communications Consultant, 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
tbg Events Nationwide

Sara Ottman Debi Pugh
AVP, Strategic Administration, Nationwide Senior Marketing Consultant, Nationwide
Retirement Solutions
Canaan Rice
Jasmine Richards, CFA Senior Account & Events Manager, sixPR
Head of Diverse Research Management,
Cambridge Associates

21

VIP Reception

Monday, May 31 | 6:30pm – 10:30pm

In the Raw

Rooftop of Vast Bank Building
110 N. Elgin Ave., Tulsa, OK 74120

FIRESIDE CHAT PANELISTS:
Troy Vincent
WELCOME REMARKS: Executive Vice President of Football Operations
Cory Gray National Football League
General Manager, Market Director Oklahoma,
PepsiCo Beverages North America LaDondra Wilson
Vice President of Social Responsibility & Executive Director
MODERATOR: Dallas Wings Community Foundation
Ronald C. Parker
President & CEO, National Association of Greg Taylor
Securities Professionals (NASP) Executive Director, NBA Foundation
National Basketball Association

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION SPONSORED BY
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
BRAND

22

TROY VINCENT VIP RECEPTION | SPEAKER BIOS
Executive Vice President of Football Operations, National Football League
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Troy Vincent, Sr., is Executive Vice president of Football Operations at the National Football 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
League (NFL). As a leader, Vincent draws from his unique experiences as an NFL player for
15 years, president of the NFL Players Association, and the Senior Vice President of Player
Engagement at the NFL. He employs the highest standards to enhance and preserve
football and its value to society. Vincent works closely with clubs, players, and Legends on
social justice initiatives in communities across the nation. His influence and impact reach
far beyond the football field.
Personally, Vincent is an advocate against domestic violence and sexual assault. Being
directly affected by domestic violence, both Vincent and his wife, Tommi, share a passion
and commitment to promoting the message of “Leadership Over Violence”. They serve
their community through visiting shelters, speaking to advocacy groups, and encouraging
others to act to end domestic violence and sexual assault.
Additionally, through their foundation, Love Thy Neighbor, the Vincent family is dedicated
to humanitarian efforts defined by giving back to those in need throughout communities
across America, beginning with their hometown of Trenton, NJ. Because of his charitable
endeavors, Vincent is the only player in history to have received both the NFL Walter Payton
Man of the Year award and the NFL Players Association Byron Whizzer White Award. He also
received the National Jefferson Award for Public Service for extraordinary public service.
Vincent also serves on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

LADONDRA WILSON
Vice President of Social Responsibility & Executive Director,
Dallas Wings Community Foundation

LaDondra Wilson serves as the Dallas Wing’s Vice President of Social Responsibility and
Executive Director of the Dallas Wings Community Foundation. LaDondra leads the
organization’s community engagement efforts and leads the social justice committee as
well as the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Ms. Wilson was been was named the 2013 Tarrant County Case Manager of the Year.
A proud native of Oak Cliff, currently LaDondra serves as the President of the Mayor’s
Star Council, serves on The Dallas Heroes, Mayor’s Star Council, Educate Dallas and
Rainbow Days Board of Directors. LaDondra has been named 2019 Millennial to Watch as
a Community Server and most recently named a 2020 Community First Award recipient
from the Parkland Foundation.

GREG TAYLOR
Executive Director, NBA Foundation
National Basketball Association

As Executive Director of the NBA Foundation, Greg Taylor is responsible for the strategic
development, creation and implementation of programs and partnerships that advance
the Foundation’s efforts to increase access and support for high school, college-aged, job-
ready and mid-career Black men and women.
Working closely with the NBA Foundation Board of Directors, Program Officers, National
Basketball Players Association and all 30 NBA teams, he forms impactful partnerships and
oversees support for national and local organizations in NBA markets and communities
across the United States and Canada.
Prior to joining the NBA in 2013, Taylor served as President and CEO of the Foundation for
Newark’s Future, where he positioned the foundation as an influential voice in education
reform, developed a board comprised of distinguished local and national leaders and raised
$78 million in matching funds.

23

Economic Empowerment Day Program Overview

The goal of the Economic Empowerment Day is to create a collective focal point for the
national conversation on the Racial Wealth Gap and the Inequality in Access to Capital.
With a focus on addressing the disparities for Black business owners, investors, and
individuals, the conference will be the premier event for Black economic empowerment,
taking the lessons from the past and accelerating the path forward towards economic
justice for all. This premier event for Black Economic Empowerment, will spotlight three
specific areas – Black Wall Street, Black Commerce Street and Black Wealth Street.

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION BLACK WALL STREET BLACK COMMERCE STREET BLACK WEALTH STREET
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
For Institutional Investors For Entrepreneurs / Business Owners For Individuals / Families

This track will begin with a look at Black entrepreneurship was at the heart Despite gains in voting and civil rights,
Black presence in the investing world, of early twentieth century Tulsa, with a Black wealth has stagnated, with the
then break out into group networking thriving business district that elevated average Black family holding just one-
sessions to discuss opportunities for the entire community. This track will tenth the wealth of a white family. This
diversity and inclusion in institutional explore the role of Black businesses track focuses on useful and practical
investing. We will then reconvene to in shaping communities and building recommendations for building individual
discuss the larger roles that policy wealth. Specific emphasis will be placed and cross-generational wealth, creating
and government intervention can play on access to capital and other resources financial security and closing the racial
in supporting the advancement of that are essential for success. wealth gap for all. Includes strategies for
diverse asset managers. attendees of all ages and stages of life.

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY PROUDLY PRESENTED BY PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

24

9:00AM - 3:30PM Open Lobby for: GENERAL SESSION AGENDA
Registration
GRAND GALLERY Networking and Vendor Fair
Grab bag lunches will be available
10:00AM - 10:50AM
EMCEE:
GRAND HALL A & B
Kim Jackson, Anchor/Reporter, KTUL Channel 8
1:45PM - 2:30PM Welcome to Tulsa
Mayor G. T. Bynum, City of Tulsa
GRAND HALL A & B How We Drive Change/Goals for the Day
Eric Stevenson, President Nationwide Retirement Solutions,
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Nationwide 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Opening Keynote
Panel Discussion

MODERATOR:

Gale King, EVP & Chief Administrative Officer, Nationwide

PANELISTS:

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
Senator James Lankford, State of Oklahoma
Marc Morial, Chief Executive Officer, National Urban League

Closing General Session
Welcomes Guests Back
Kim Jackson, Anchor/Reporter, KTUL Channel 8
Closing Remarks
Senator Kevin Matthews, State of Oklahoma
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Eric Stevenson, President, Nationwide Workplace Solutions,

Nationwide
Keynote Remarks
Chris Gardner, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, International

Best-Selling Author
Thank Sponsors
Ronald C. Parker, President & CEO, National Association of

Securities Professionals (NASP)
Major Announcements & Closing EED
Kim Jackson, Anchor/Reporter, KTUL Channel 8

GENERAL SESSION

25

CONGRESSWOMAN JOYCE BEATTYGENERAL SESSION | SPEAKER BIOS
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty is a native Ohioan with a strong history of connecting
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION people, policy, and politics to make a difference. Since 2013, Beatty has proudly
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY represented Ohio’s Third Congressional District. She sits on the exclusive House
Committee on Financial Services and serves on two Subcommittees: Chair of
Diversity and Inclusion; and Housing, Community Development and Insurance.
Congresswoman Beatty has dedicated her life to helping make an impact by
delivering results and through service to Central Ohio. Highlights include: over $1
billion in COVID-19 relief funds; $30 million in federal funds to help launch a $225
million revitalization project of Columbus’ Near East Side; $80 million to ensure more
Ohio students can succeed in and outside the classroom; and the $40 million Smart
City Challenge to transform the region’s transportation network and make it safer,
easier to use, and more reliable.
Congresswoman Beatty is Chair of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus,
Region 10 designee on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and is an
influential member of the Democratic Seniors Task Force, Co-Chair of the Financial
and Economic Literacy Caucus and Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition,
Deputy Vice-Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and founder of the
Congressional Civility and Respect Caucus. Outside of her committee and numerous
caucus memberships, Beatty is a committed and vocal supporter of early education,
women’s equality, concussion awareness, and the Office of Minority and Women
Inclusion (OMWI).
She received her Bachelor of Arts from Central State University, her Master of Science
from Wright State University, and completed all requirements but her dissertation
for a doctorate at the University of Cincinnati.

G.T. BYNUM
Mayor, City of Tulsa
Sworn in as the 40th Mayor of Tulsa in 2016 and re-elected to a second term as
mayor of Tulsa in 2020, Mayor G.T. Bynum is using data and innovation to bring
people together and make our city globally competitive. To accomplish this, Mayor
Bynum is focused on fiscal responsibility, public safety, equality of opportunity,
and community investment.
Under Mayor Bynum’s leadership, Tulsa recruited the two largest new employers in
city history, secured the largest private sector investment in Tulsa history, opened
the greatest park gift in American history, and became known across the nation
for innovative programs such as A Better Way, the New Tulsans Initiative and the
Resilient Tulsa Strategy. Mayor Bynum steadily led Tulsa through critical incidents
including the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, multiple tornadoes, the 2019 flood
and a record-breaking winter snowstorm. Mayor Bynum also continues to seek
justice and truth through the on-going search for victims of the 1921 Race Massacre
in Tulsa’s Greenwood community.
In a career engrained in public service, Bynum has worked in the United States
Senate for two Oklahoma Senators and served eight years as a Tulsa City Councilor
prior to his election for mayor. As a native Tulsan, Bynum and his wife, Susan, are
the proud parents of Robert and Annabel – the sixth generation of the Bynums to
call Tulsa home.

26

CHRIS GARDNER GENERAL SESSION | SPEAKER BIOS
CEO of HappYness
Chris Gardner is an entrepreneur, international best-selling author and an award TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
winning film producer. Gardner’s autobiography,The Pursuit of HappYness 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
became a New York Times #1 best seller, has been translated into over forty
languages, including six (6) dialects of Chinese and most recent into Arabic.
Gardner is also the inspiration for the critically acclaimed film “The Pursuit of
HappYness” for which Will Smith received the Golden Globe, Screen Actors
Guild and Academy Award nominations for his performance. Gardner’s second
book, “Start Where You Are” also a best seller was published in 2009. Chris just
completed his newest book, “Permission To Dream” which will be available in
April 2021.
Gardner has described himself as “a 67 year old start-up!”
His most ambitious goal at this time is to “create the NEXT Chris Gardner(s),
and some of them are going to be girls!”This goal is the sole mission of the
Christopher P. Gardner Foundation. Gardner has spoken at hundreds of middle
and high schools all across America in this effort. And because of COVID-19
he made the ‘HARD PIVOT’ from doing live in school events to “virtual” events
that could have him speak in as many as 1,000 schools in 2021.

GALE KING
EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, Nationwide
For over 30 years, Gale King has been a noteworthy leader in the insurance and
financial services industries. Many know her in her current role as Executive
Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer who leads Human Resources,
Diversity and Inclusion, Corporate Real Estate, Corporate Security and Aviation
operations at Nationwide; however, Gale can also be credited with many
contributions to the community and to education.
Driven by her passion for people, she has been instrumental in strengthening
Nationwide’s inclusive culture – which has earned the company numerous
recognitions, including six consecutive years on the Workforce 100 list and
Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list; Catalyst Award; 100 percent on
Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (17 years); Black Enterprise
Best Workplaces for Diversity, Fortune’s 50 Best Workplaces for Diversity and
many others.
Having a personal commitment to education, King has endowed scholarships
at the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College. King is an
independent director for two Fortune 250 companies, JB Hunt and AutoZone,
and also serves as a board trustee (and former chair) for the University of Florida
Foundation and board trustee for the Executive Leadership Council. She holds
a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public administration
from the University of Florida.

27

JAMES LANKFORDGENERAL SESSION | SPEAKER BIOS
United States Senator
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY James Lankford serves Oklahomans. He served four years in the US House of Representatives
for central Oklahoma, until he was overwhelmingly elected to the US Senate in 2014.
Before his service in Congress, James served students and families for more than 20 years
in ministry, including 15 years as the Director of Student Ministry for the Baptist Convention
of Oklahoma and Director of the Falls Creek Youth Camp, the largest youth camp in the
United States, with more than 51,000 individuals attending each summer.
James and his staff enjoy serving people from all backgrounds across Oklahoma. As
chairman of the Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management Subcommittee, which covers
federal spending, regulatory reform, and the federal workforce, he demands we have a
more fiscally responsible and transparent federal government, and our nation remains the
world leader. He believes that the federal government has an important role in our nation,
but empowered families, individual people, and private businesses grow our economy
and pass down our values.
James was recognized as the Senate’s top-ranked “Taxpayers Friend” by the National
Taxpayers Union for his strong record in support of lower taxes, limited government, and
economic freedom. His annual Federal Fumbles report is a must-read in Washington, DC,
because of its commonsense solutions to the problems our federal government faces.
He has also been recognized by many other organizations for his work toward increased
personal freedom, economic growth, and religious liberty.
James lives in Oklahoma City with his wife Cindy. They have been married more than 27
years and have two daughters, Hannah and Jordan. He enjoys spending time with his family,
working in his yard, and reading.

SENATOR KEVIN L. MATTHEWS
Senate District 11

Senator Kevin L. Matthews is founder and Chair of the 1921 Centennial Tulsa Race Senator
Kevin L. Matthews is founder and Chair of the 1921 Centennial Tulsa Race Massacre
Commission, which was established to create cultural tourism and education in the
Greenwood District. He is the founder of the Entrepreneur Shadow program, which funds
youth learning about financial literacy, leadership, and business ownership in partnership
with the 100 Black Men Mentoring Program. Senator Matthews authored his first book
published in 2018, entitled “Empowering the Powerless”, 5 steps to a new way of thinking.
He was a charter member of the 1st Step Male Diversion Program that allows non-violent
offenders that stay clean from drugs and are gainfully employed, to have their charges
dropped.
In 2018, Matthews joined with U.S. Senator Lankford to launch the first statewide curriculum
teaching about Black Wallstreet and the 1921 Race Massacre for the 1st time in our state’s
history and on June 19th of that year, Matthews announced a new law, HB 3221, the
Juneteenth law relating to teaching about the Emancipation Proclamation which he also Co-
Authored. Senator Matthews owned Kevin’s Cleaners on Greenwood, Roni Deutschland
Tax Centers Franchise, The Green Pages Business Directory, and has been a CPR Instructor
and Safety Consultant for 40 years in six different states. He was a charter member of the
North Tulsa Rotary Club.
Senator Matthews was elected to public service as a State Representative in 2012. Senator
Matthews was elected as a State Senator in April 2015.While a State Representative, Senator
Matthews was accepted and attended the Darden School of Business Emerging Leaders
(Executive Education) Program at the University of Virginia in July 2013.
The Senator now serves as the Democratic Caucus Chair. He is a native Tulsan, graduating
from Booker T. Washington High School in 1978.

28

MARC MORIAL GENERAL SESSION | SPEAKER BIOS
President and CEO, National Urban League
Marc Morial, who has been described as one of the few national leaders to TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
possess “street smarts”, and “boardroom savvy”, is the current President and 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest historic civil rights and
urban advocacy organization.
He served as the highly successful and popular Mayor of New Orleans as well as
the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He previously was a Louisiana
State Senator, and was a lawyer in New Orleans with an active, high profile
practice.
He is a leading voice on the national stage in the battle for jobs, education,
housing and voting rights equity.
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of
Pennsylvania, he has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Black
Americans by Ebony Magazine, one of the top 50 Non Profit Leaders by the Non
Profit Times, one of the 100 Most Influential Black Lawyers in America and he has
also been inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, GA.

RONALD C. PARKER

President and CEO, National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP)
Ronald C. Parker is the President and CEO of The National Association of
Securities Professionals (NASP), the preeminent securities advocacy organization
for minorities and women in the country and around the world.
Prior to joining NASP, Parker was President and CEO of The Executive Leadership
Council (ELC), an organization representing global black CEOs, senior executives
and corporate board members of Fortune 1000 and global 500 organizations.
In addition to his leadership roles at NASP and The ELC, Parker was with PepsiCo
for nearly 30 years and retired from his position as Senior Vice President of Human
Resources, Labor Relations and Global Diversity & Inclusion. During his time at
PepsiCo, Parker served in several positions across multiple functions including
field operating and corporate staff roles.
Currently, Parker serves on the Board of The Association of Governing Boards
of Universities and Colleges (AGB), the Board of Baylor Scott & White Hospital,
the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board of Procter & Gamble, the Board of
Visitors for Howard University’s School of Business, the United Way Foundation
of Metropolitan Dallas Board, and is a former Board Member of the Executive
Leadership Council.
Parker is a graduate of Texas Christian University (TCU), holding a B.A. in Political
Science. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for TCU, serves as Chair of the
University’s Development Committee, and is on the Board of Advisors for TCU’s
Neely School of Business. Parker is National Association of Corporate Directors
(NACD) Board Fellow and a frequent speaker on governance, diversity & inclusion,
and leadership matters.

29

ERIC STEVENSONGENERAL SESSION | SPEAKER BIOS
President, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Nationwide
As President of Nationwide’s retirement solutions business, Eric brings more1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
than 15 years of industry experience to his position, currently managing theECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
team responsible for growing Nationwide’s retirement solutions operation
to nearly $150 billion in assets under management. He is passionate about
fostering a culture that embraces collaboration to deliver retirement solutions
to Nationwide’s customers that meet and exceed the unique retirement
readiness needs of plan sponsors and participants.
Eric previously served as Senior Vice President of Nationwide Retirement
Solutions Distribution across both the 401(k) and 457 businesses. In this role,
he led and grew a national team of 500 associates who were responsible for
growing assets and helping more than 2.5 million participants prepare for and
live in retirement.
He joined Nationwide in 2006 in life insurance marketing and soon after joined
retirement solutions marketing, assuming roles of increasing responsibility.
In 2007, Eric was named vice president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions
Marketing for public and private sector, where he repositioned the brand from
a product focus to a customer service experience. He acquired a breadth of
business experience over the past 25 years serving in leadership roles at
Quaker Oats and Warner Lambert, where he managed sales and marketing
for consumer-packaged goods and over-the-counter products.
Eric earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the
University of Oklahoma and his Master of Business Administration degree
from Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He
holds the NASD Series 6, 26 and 65 licenses.
Outside of Nationwide, Eric serves on the University of Oklahoma’s Board of
Regents. He previously served on boards for the University of Oklahoma Price
College of Business Finance Department, the National Association of Securities
Professionals (NASP) and the Salvation Army.

30

11:00AM - 11:45AM Looking Back, Moving Forward: AGENDA
Tulsa 1921 and Institutional Investing Today
GRAND HALL A & B
MODERATOR:

Michelle Miller, Co-Host, CBS News
11:55AM - 12:40PM
Why We’re Here:
CONFERENCE HALL - B Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Managing Director & Senior Client Advisor,
CONFERENCE HALL - C
CONFERENCE HALL - D Morgan Stanley
PANELISTS:
12:50PM - 1:35PM Tim Ryan, US Chairman & Senior Partner, PwC
David Thomas, President, Morehouse College
GRAND HALL A & B Michelle Gadsden-Williams, Managing Director, Human Resources, BlackRock
W illiam Jasien, Executive Chairman, NACo Financial Services Company
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
GROUP NETWORKING / DISCUSSION PODS 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION

Inviting Public & Corporate Pensions, OCIOs, FOFs, Endowments,
Foundations, and Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors to discuss removing
barriers to fuller inclusion of diverse asset managers.

MODERATOR:

Miguel Thames, Founder & CEO, TIG Advisory | Virtual Session

MODERATOR:

J a smine Richards, Head of Diverse Manager Research, Cambridge Associates

MODERATOR:

M ichael Bowman, Senior Vice President – Relationship Manager, Capital Group

SEMINAR:

Partners in Policy - Strengthening Black Wall Street
Bringing insight from the Discussion Pods
Miguel Thames, Founder & CEO, TIG Advisory
Jasmine Richards, Head of Diverse Research Management, Cambridge Associates
Michael Bowman, Senior Vice President-Relationship Manager, Capital Group

MODERATOR:

Monica Bertran, Head of Corporate Communications Digital & Innovation,
Bloomberg

PANELISTS:

Senator James Lankford, State of Oklahoma
James Andrus, Investment Manager - Financial Markets, Sustainable

Investment, CALPERS
Gilbert Garcia, Managing Partner, Garcia Hamilton & Associates, LP,

SEC Advisory Council
Robert James, Chair, National Bankers Association

BLACK WALL STREET PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

31

JAMES ANDRUSBLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Investment Manager, CalPERS
James Andrus is an Investment Manager in Board Governance and Sustainability at1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). CalPERS’ is the largestECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
public pension system in the United States with approximately $450 billion in global
assets. James leads the legal and regulatory financial market agenda focused on data
and corporate reporting transparency.
James is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC)
which advises the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on matters involving
financial reporting in the U.S. He represents the Council of Institutional Investors on the
International Accounting Standards Board Advisory Committee which advises the IFRS
Foundation trustees and the International Accounting Standards Board on strategic
and technical matters involving international financial reporting. He is also Chair of the
Disclosure and Transparency Committee of the International Corporate Governance
Network.
Prior to joining CalPERS in 2014, James served as a Corporate and Investment
Management Partner at the law firm K&L Gates. He served as a board member for the
Seattle Alternative Investment Association, hosting the quarterly meetings for more
than 3 years.
James has been a frequent presenter on corporate governance and ESG related topics.
He has twice testified before the US House of Representatives, Committee on Financial
Services, subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets.
James is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the
University of Texas School of Law where he served as the President of the Thurgood
Marshall Legal Society.

MONICA BERTRAN
Global Head of Employee Engagement & Innovation, Bloomberg

Monica Bertran is the Head of Bloomberg’s Corporate Communications Employee
Engagement and Innovation team.
Building on a twenty year career as an on-air anchor and reporter for Bloomberg Television
and Radio, Monica developed the company’s corporate communications digital and
innovation team which creates content for six branded communications channels, develops
employee engagement programs and heads the team that does external relations for
Bloomberg’s CTO and Engineering teams.
Monica’s team also partners with Bloomberg’s senior business leaders to develop
and implement creative communications strategies targeting external clients as well
as Bloomberg’s over 19,000 employees globally. Her most recent accomplishments
include the employee communications and digital strategy for Bloomberg’s new London
headquarters, which consists of website development, a documentary video series,
quarterly employee town halls, and special media events.
Prior to joining corporate communications, Monica held a distinguished career on
Bloomberg Television and Radio. She was also part of the initial team that worked along-
side Michael Bloomberg to develop the company’s media vision and launch Bloomberg
Radio- WBBR 1130AM in 1992.

32

MICHAEL A. BOWMAN BLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Senior Business Development Manager, Capital Group
Michael A. Bowman is a senior business development manager at Capital TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Group. He has 29 years of investment industry experience and has been with 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Capital Group for 10 years. Prior to joining Capital, he was a senior director at
Invesco responsible for client service and marketing of institutional strategies.
Before that, he was a managing director for Advent Capital Management. He
holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas, Austin.
Michael is based in San Francisco.

MICHELLE GADSDEN-WILLIAMS
Managing Director & Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Michelle Gadsden-Williams is the Managing Director and Global Head of
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for BlackRock. She is an award-winning global
diversity executive, author, activist, producer and philanthropist with more
than 25 years of experience as an advocate for equality within corporate
America and a thought leader around diversity and inclusion. Michelle is a
seasoned diversity practitioner with experience working in the consumer
goods, pharmaceutical and financial services industries before transitioning
to professional services in 2017.
Michelle is the former, Managing Director of Inclusion & Diversity for Accenture
North America. She provided strategic direction, thought leadership and
championed the development of an inclusive environment by integrating
diversity practice into all aspects of the business. She has held positions
of global responsibility in the diversity management arena by living in
Switzerland for close to 10 years of her corporate career and managed staffing
functions for large multi­national corporations such as Credit Suisse, Novartis
and Merck & Co, Inc. Prior to her tenure at Merck & Co., Inc, Michelle has also
held positions in Human Resources and Product Development at PhilipsV­ an
Heusen Corporation and Wakefern Food Corporation, both headquartered
in New Jersey.
Michelle earned a B.S. in Marketing, a B.A. in Communications from Kean
College of New Jersey and an M.S. in Organizational Dynamics from the
University of Pennsylvania.

33

GILBERT ANDREW GARCIA, CFABLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Managing Partner, Garcia Hamilton & Associates, LP, SEC Advisory Council
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Mr. Garcia received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University in 1985 and joined SalomonECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
Brothers in New York City where he became a Vice President specializing in mortgage-backed
securities. In 2002, he joined Garcia Hamilton & Associates and is the firm’s Managing Partner.
Under his leadership, the firm grew from $200 million in fixed income assets under management
to over $16.4 billion as of October 2020.
In 2019, Houston Business Journal recognized Mr. Garcia among Houston’s Top CEOs, as well
as being ranked among their Best Places to Work in 2018. The firm also received Pensions &
Investments’ Best Places to Work in Money Management for four years in a row (2016-2019).
Emerging Manager Monthly awarded the firm Fixed Income Manager of the Year for the third
time (2019, 2018 and 2010).
During the recent COVID-19 crisis, Mr. Garcia and his firm have donated over 30,000 masks
along with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to various organizations.
Mr. Garcia is proud to serve on two SEC advisory boards: SEC’s Fixed Income Market
Structure Advisory Board and SEC’s Asset Management Advisory Committee where he leads
a subcommittee focused on Diversity and Inclusion. He currently serves as a member of the
Board of Trustees for Dallas Police & Fire Pension System. He was awarded “Male Entrepreneur
of the Year 2018” by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, Mr. Garcia was
awarded the SEO Alumni Leadership Award alongside other honorees, including the former
mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Co-Founder & Co-CEO of The Carlyle
Group, David M. Rubenstein.
From 2012 - 2016, Mr. Garcia served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of
Harris County where he implemented the “Garcia Rule” which requires at least one diverse
investment manager be included in every asset class search.

CARLA HARRIS
Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley.
Carla Harris is responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance
revenue generation across the firm. She formerly headed the Emerging Manager Platform,
the equity capital markets effort for the consumer and retail industries and was responsible
for Equity Private Placements. In her 30 year career, Ms. Harris has had extensive industry
experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial,
and healthcare sectors. In August 2013, Carla Harris was appointed by President Barack
Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council.
For more than a decade, Ms. Harris was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk
and executed such transactions as initial public offerings for UPS, Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia, Ariba, Redback, the General Motors sub-IPO of Delphi Automotive, and the $3.2
Billion common stock transaction for Immunex Corporation, one of the largest biotechnology
common stock transactions in U.S. history. Ms. Harris was named to Fortune Magazine’s
list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”, Fortune’s Most
Influential List, U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (2009, 2010, 2011),
Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2017), and “Top 75 African
Americans on Wall Street”.
She is the past Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and of The Executive
Leadership Council, and sits on the boards of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO),.
She is a member of the board of overseers of Harvard University and of the board of directors
of the Walmart Corporation. Ms. Harris was co-chair of the National Social Action Commission
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

34

WILLIAM JASIEN BLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Executive Chairman, NACo Financial Services Corporation
Bill Jasien is the Executive Chairman of the NACo Financial Services Corporation TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
and CEO of StoneHedge Global Partners. He spent 20 years with ING and served 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
as President of the retirement business and global head of sales.
In 2014, Bill was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S.
Senate, to serve on the board of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
(FRTIB). In 2007, Bill was nominated by President Bush (43) and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate, to serve on the board of the Securities Investor Protection
Corporation (SIPC), where he continues to chair the multi-billion dollar investment
committee.
Bill served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush (41) in a number
of capacities, including Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Treasury and Assistant to
the Vice President. He is a 1985 graduate from James Madison University (JMU)
and served on the Board of Visitors from 1996 – 2004, concluding his term as
the Vice Rector. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who is also a 1985 graduate from JMU,
reside in Hilton Head, SC. They have four grown children and two grandchildren.

ROBERT JAMES
Chairman, National Bankers Association
Robert E. James, II leverages his experiences in banking, law, real estate
development, and consulting to provide the building blocks to financial freedom.
He is President of Carver Development CDE, LLC, an affi liate of Carver State
Bank he created in 2010. As a result of his leadership, Carver has won two awards
totaling $80 million in allocations of New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S.
Treasury since 2017. These awards were the first ever for a Georgia community
bank and the first ever to a Georgia entity outside of Atlanta. Robert also serves
Carver State Bank as its Director of Strategic Initiatives and board member. He
leads the implementation of the bank’s strategic plan, its government guaranteed
lending business, legislative and regulatory relations, and is the successor to the
bank’s current President & CEO. Robert is also Executive Director of the bank’s
nonprofit CDFI affiliate, Catalyst Development Corporation.
In addition to his responsibilities with the bank, Robert is also a partner at the
law firm Golden Holley James LLP. Mr. James is a member of the New York and
Georgia bars and has had an active role in documenting and closing over $25
billion in transactions since 2009.
James graduated from Harvard Law School in 1995 and from Howard University
in Washington, D.C. in 1992.
Robert is Chairman of the National Bankers Association (2021-2023), the leading
advocacy group for the nation’s minority banks. He is also a member of the board
of the Community Development Bankers Association.

35

MICHELLE MILLERBLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Co-host of CBS News, CBS News
Michelle Miller is the co-host of “CBS This Morning: Saturday.” Miller joined1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
the broadcast in July of 2018. Her work regularly appears on the “CBS EveningECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
News,” “CBS This Morning” and “CBS Sunday Morning.” She has also appeared
as a correspondent on “48 Hours.” Miller joined CBS News in 2004.
While at CBS News, Miller has reported on many stories of national and
international importance. She provided extensive coverage of protests
surrounding police misconduct and indictments including: the deaths of George
Floyd (and his funeral), Travyon Martin, Michael Brown and the trial of George
Zimmerman. She was on the ground during the Newtown Massacre; March for
Our Lives protest and gun control movement; the shooting at Chardon High
School in Ohio; Medical care for the rural poor in South Africa.

JASMINE RICHARDS
Head of Diverse Manager Research, Cambridge Associates
Jasmine N. Richards, CFA joined Cambridge Associates in 2018 as Head of
Diverse Manager Research to lead the firm’s initiative to identify and research
diverse institutional-quality investment managers in all public and private asset
classes. A highly experienced investment research executive, Ms. Richards has
over fifteen years of both buy and sell side experience. Prior to Cambridge
Associates, Ms. Richards covered International Equity Research at FIS Group,
with an emphasis on diverse-owned asset managers. Ms. Richards holds an MBA
from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is a member of CFA
Society Boston.

TIM RYAN
US Chair & Senior Partner, PwC
Tim Ryan is US Chair and Senior Partner of PwC. He is responsible for setting the
strategy, leading the culture, and setting the tone on quality for the firm’s 55,000
employees and partners. Tim serves as the Chair of the US Board of Partners
and Principals and is a member of the Network Leadership Team (NLT), which
includes the senior partners from the network’s four largest territories. He serves
as Asia Pacific Americas (APA) Leader and oversees the execution of our network
strategy in that region.
Tim is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brookings Institution. He also
serves as a member of the Governing Board at the Center for Audit Quality
(CAQ), a non-partisan and non-profit group dedicated to enhancing investor
confidence and public trust in the global capital markets. He also serves on the
Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees and is the Co-Chair of its
Standard- Setting Process Oversight Committee.
Tim co-founded CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™— now the largest ever
CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the
workplace, with nearly 2,000 signatory organizations. He also founded CEO
Action for Racial Equity to identify and promote scalable and sustainable policies
and corporate best practices to address systemic racism and social injustice.
36

MIGUEL THAMES BLACK WALL STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Managing Partner, T.I.G. Advisory
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Miguel Thames is a successful executive with over 30 years of experience in the financial 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
services industry. He has expertise in global sales management, institutional relationship
management, portfolio management and investments, and business development strategy.
He has held senior management positions in global business development and has led
sales, client service, and consultant relations teams in the US, UK and Japan for a large asset
management company. Through his global relationship role with PGIM, he has established
an institutional investor network that includes some of the largest pools of capital in Latin
America, Africa and the US.
Miguel has established a track record of success that he continues to build on. In 2019
Miguel founded T.I.G. Advisory. The firm focuses on; (a) facilitating institutional engagement
and investment in Africa, and (b) advising US focused asset managers and fund sponsors in
business development and strategy.
He has championed workforce diversity, supplier diversity and employee development, and
continues to mentor many younger professionals. Through his career Miguel has earned
a reputation for high integrity, motivating goal-oriented teamwork, and commitment to
achieving results.
Miguel currently serves as a board member for the National Association of Securities
Professionals (NASP), and is chair of their Program Committee. He also is a director for a
small auto technology start- up company, working closely with the CEO in an advisory and
oversight capacity on product development strategies, business development and fund
raising. He serves as an advisor for an international asset management company operating
in the US and South Africa. Miguel served as a member of the Investment Committee of the
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a large labor union trade organization,
and chaired this committee for two years
Miguel earned his BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MBA in Finance
from the University of Chicago. He is an active member of several national and international
organizations. He is a National Eagle Leadership Institute Award recipient, and a Chartered
Financial Analyst.

DAVID THOMAS
President, Morehouse College

Dr. David A. Thomas took office as the 12th President of Morehouse College on Jan. 1, 2018,
ushering in a new era of progressive leadership for the nation’s largest and most prestigious
liberal arts institution for men.
With more than 30 years of experience in the business of higher education, Thomas is a
visionary leader who is nationally respected as an expert in organizational change. He is the
former Dean of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and has served as
a business school professor at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Under Thomas’ leadership at Morehouse, the college has increased enrollment and
philanthropic giving. Morehouse made history in higher education in May 2019 when a
chief executive officer that he invited to serve as Commencement speaker surprised the
graduating class by offering to pay off their student loans.
Thomas holds a doctorate in Organizational Behavior Studies and a Master of Philosophy
degree in Organizational Behavior, both from Yale University. He also has a master’s degree
in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Administrative
Sciences degree from Yale College. He is the co-author of three books.

37

AGENDA 11:00AM - 11:45AM Fireside Chat: Importance of Black Entrepreneurship
in Shaping communities
GRAND HALL C
WELCOME & INTRO:

Ginger Kollmann, Executive Director, JPMorgan Chase
11:55AM - 12:40PM
MODERATOR:
GRAND HALL C
Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., President & CEO, Black Enterprise

PANELISTS:

12:50PM - 1:35PM John Rogers, Jr., Founder, Co-CEO & Chief Investment Officer,
Ariel Investments
GRAND HALL C
Racquel Oden, Head of National Sales & Support, Chase
Consumer Bank

Luz Urrutia, Chief Executive Officer, Accion Opportunity Fund,
American Express


Creativity & Capital Access: Funding Opportunities
for the New Majority

MODERATOR:

Christina Whatley, Generation Investment Mgmt

PANELISTS:

Kesha Cash, Founder, General Partner, Impact America
Kim Folsom, Founder, Chairperson, Founders First
Jewel Burks Solomon, Managing Partner, Collab Capital
Candice Brackeen, General Partner, Lightship Capital

The Way Forward: Innovations in Partnerships

MODERATOR:

Randolph Wiggins, Venture Partner, Atento Capital;
Managing Director, Build in Tulsa

PANELISTS:

Melissa Bradley, Managing Partner, 1863 Ventures
Dominick Ard’is, Founder, Act House
Shila Nieves Burney, Founder & General Partner, Zane Venture Fund
Tosh Ernest, Advancing Black Pathways, Head of Business Growth

& Entrepreneurship and Financial Health & Wealth Creation,
JP Morgan Chase

1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION BLACK COMMERCE STREET PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
ENTREPRENEURS / BUSINESS OWNERS

38

DOMINICK J. ARD’IS BLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Founder and CEO, ACT House
Dominick J. Ard’is, actively leverages innovation models to bridge gaps within TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
humanity, grounded on his model of diversity combining experience, expertise, 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
and ethnicity. His model focuses on addressing ecosystem gaps around
underestimated founders and mitigating startup failure.
As CEO of ACT House, INC and Managing Partner of ACT Ventures, Dominick
collaborates with a team highly focused on assisting innovators in finding their
entrepreneurial identity, accelerating team formation, and growing scalable
ventures.
Dominick is an honored graduate of Florida A&M University, with graduate
degrees from Florida State University, and spends his summers at Middlebury
College learning foreign languages. He enjoys working at the intersection of
creativity and innovation provoked by the notion “Don’t just think different…
ACT different”

CANDICE MATTHEWS BRACKEEN
General Partner, Lightship Capital

Candice Matthews Brackeen is a General Partner at Lightship Capital, the
Cincinnati-based VC firm dedicated to backing underrepresented entrepreneurs
in the Midwest. As General Partner, Candice leads entrepreneur selection, board
membership, investor relations, and serves on the investment committee.
She is also the Founder and CEO of Hillman, an entrepreneur education program
that focuses on tech startups led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. Through
her work at Hillman, Candice successfully influenced state policy around economic
inclusion and established meaningful partnerships with companies like Procter &
Gamble, Kroger, and Chase.
Candice has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience including co-
founding Hello Parent, a national safety technology partner of the Brady Campaign
to Reduce Gun Violence and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She later founded
the Cincinnati Chapter of the Black Founders Network (BFN), which works to
increase diversity and inclusion efforts within the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The initial 11 members of BFN have gone on to raise more than 60 million dollars.
Candice currently serves on the advisory boards of the Global Accelerator
Network and the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Northern Kentucky
University. Candice received both the VentureOhio Catalyst of the Year and the
Cincinnati Business Courier Women Who Mean Business awards, and maintains a
busy fundraising schedule, working diligently to identify and develop transformative
tech startups.
Candice holds a BA Economics from the University of Cincinnati where she was a
Hewitt-Kautz Fellow.

39

MELISSA BRADLEYBLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Founder & General Partner, 1863 Ventures
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Melissa L. Bradley is a co-founder of venture-backed Ureeka, a community where smallECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
businesses gain unprecedented access to the expertise needed to grow their business.
The Ureeka mission is to democratize economic opportunity by enabling community and
by reducing the cost and risk associated with growing a small to medium business (SMB).
She is also Founder of 1863 Ventures, a business development program that accelerates
New Majority entrepreneurs from high potential to high growth. In this role she created
a community of over 10,000 New Majority entrepreneurs in three years. Melissa serves as
General Partner of 1863 Venture Fund, Venture Partner at NextGen Ventures and serves
an advisor the New Voices Foundation and New Voices Fund, as well as the Halcyon Fund.
She is also a member of the Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women Advisory Council,
Fast Company Executive Board, Square & Forbes Small Business Advisory Team, as well
as the Target Accelerators Entrepreneurs Advisory Council. Melissa is the former Co-
Chair, National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and was recently
named one of The Most Entrepreneurial Women Investors in 2018.
Melissa is a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University
where she teaches impact investing, social entrepreneurship, P2P economies and
innovation. She recently received The Ideas Worth Teaching Award which celebrates
exceptional courses that are preparing future business leaders to tackle society’s largest
challenges and create a more inclusive, just, and sustainable version of capitalism. She
is also a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sidecar Social Finance, a social impact
agency that provides impact investing advisory and capital services to individuals,
institutions, and social enterprises.
Melissa’s educational background includes graduation from Georgetown University
in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the School of Business, and
a Master’s degree in Business Administration in Marketing from American University
in 1993.

JEWEL BURKS
Managing Partner, Collab Capital
Jewel Burks Solomon is the Head of Google for Startups in the US. In this role,
Jewel works to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders and
communities by connecting them with the best of Google’s products, people, and
platforms. In addition to this role, Jewel also serves as Managing Partner at Collab
Capital, an alternative investment fund she launched to close the funding gap for
Black entrepreneurs. Jewel’s work and mission is about creating more access to the
technology innovation ecosystem.
Prior to leading Google for Startups and Collab Capital, Jewel was Founder/CEO of
Partpic, a startup that was acquired by Amazon in 2016, which streamlined the purchase
of maintenance and repair parts using computer vision technology. After the acquisition
of Partpic, Jewel became a product leader at Amazon’s Visual Search and AR team.
She led the integration of Partpic’s technology and launched it as Amazon PartFinder
in 2018 to the over 150M users of Amazon’s Mobile Shopping App.
Jewel received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration
in Marketing from Howard University. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her
husband, Zekarias.

40

SHILA NIEVES BURNEY BLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
General Partner, Zane Venture Fund
Shila Nieves Burney, an award-winning project manager, is the Founding TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
and Managing Partner of Zane Venture Fund. Shila spent her 20+ year 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
career advocating for marginalized groups. She has worked closely with
leading organizations and exceptional talent to create solutions that
address disparities through investment in human capital.
As 3x founder, Shila founded ZANE Venture Fund, a seed fund that would
invest in underrepresented founders with the goal of closing the funding
gap while generating high returns for investors. Shila also founded Zane
Access which provides early-stage companies led by diverse teams’
access to cross-functional experts, resources, best practices and
customized content critical to accelerating growth.

KESHA CASH
General Partner, Impact America Fund
Kesha is a General Partner at Impact America Fund, a $65M early stage
venture investment firm. Kesha is passionate about helping the next
generation of founders navigate the challenges that inevitably arise
when building a business—even when the idea is great, the model is
strong, or funding is abundant. She was recently named one of Fast
Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and is the subject of a
Stanford Graduate School of Business case study on forming a successful
impact venture capital firm. She has nearly a decade of experience
in impact investing; at Jalia Ventures, a $5 million fund that she co-
founded with Josh Mailman, she made seed investments in mission-
driven companies including Red Rabbit, Schoolzilla, and ConnXus. She
was also an investment associate at Bridges Ventures in the UK. Prior to
this, Kesha worked as an operational consultant to small businesses in
inner-city Los Angeles and as a mergers and acquisitions analyst at Merrill
Lynch. She currently serves on the board of directors of CareAcademy,
and is an elected member of the SEC Small Business Capital Formation
Advisory Committee. She received her M.B.A. from Columbia University
and her B.A. in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley.

41

TOSH ERNESTBLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Head of Wealth, Advancing Black Pathways, JPMorgan Chase
Tosh Ernest is the Head of Wealth for Advancing Black Pathways, a JPMorgan1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Chase strategy designed to make sustainable impact on the economic successECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
and empowerment of Black communities. Prior to this role, Ernest served as
an Executive Director in the Asset & Wealth Management line of business of
the firm, in 2018 launching the Private Bank’s first proprietary mutual fund
company and four funds, forming the Six Circle Funds Trust. She has led large
change and transformation initiatives for the Private Bank and Investment Bank
since joining in 2011.
Outside of work Tosh co-founded ‘IMPACT NYC’, a non-profit volunteering
service that matches members’ professional resumes to charities looking to
hire the same skills pro-bono. Tosh also volunteers her time with ‘City Hope’
and ‘The Father’s Heart’; two NYC charities that provide food and shelter to
low income households and the homeless population.

KIM FOLSOM
Co-founder and CEO, Founders First Capital Partners Inc.
Kim Folsom is the co-founder and CEO of Founders First Capital Partners, Inc,
(FFCP) a revenue-based investment and advisory support investment platform.
FFCP is the largest private provider of growth funding for service-based
businesses and the only minority and women-led, revenue-based venture
platform with $100M in committed capital. FFCP is focused on partnering
with employer-based, contract revenue generating small businesses ($250K
to $5M), to provide them with flexible and non- dilutive funding, expertise and
resources to achieve exponential growth in underserved communities. Since
their founding in 2015 the firm has provided funding and growth support to
over 200 companies.
Ms. Folsom is dedicated to leveraging the power of market forces and sound
business practices to address disparities in revenue and job growth among
businesses led by underrepresented founders. She has raised more than
$30 million in institutional venture financing, created over 500 premium
wage jobs and founded or served as a key executive for multiple successful
ventures, including ShowUhow (acquired by Sellpoints), DriveCam (now Lytx)
and Seminarsource. Before devoting her energies to entrepreneurship, Ms.
Folsom was an executive at National Dispatch Center, Luce Forward, Alltel
Systematics and Great American First.
As part of her mission to help underserved and underrepresented
entrepreneurs build sustainable, growing businesses, Ms. Folsom has taught at
several prominent universities. She earned her MBA degree from Pepperdine
University and a B.S. in Information Systems from San Diego State University.
Ms. Folsom co-founded a STEM and Robotics enrichment program to benefit
underrepresented middle school children living in Southern California.

42

EARL “BUTCH” GRAVES, JR. BLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
President & Chief Executive Officer, Black Enterprise
Earl G. Graves Jr. (Butch) is President & CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE. He joined TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
the company in 1988 after earning his M.B.A. from Harvard University. During his 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
tenure at BLACK ENTERPRISE, he has served in many positions, including VP of
Advertising & Marketing, and Chief Operating Officer. In 2006 he was promoted
to his current position.
Under Butch’s guidance BLACK ENTERPRISE has grown from a single-title
publication into a robust multimedia company. Today, the company delivers content
across five platforms, including magazine publishing; two nationally syndicated
television shows; professional development events; digital and social media.
Butch received his B.A. in economics from Yale University in 1984, distinguishing
himself both academically and athletically. As a four-year starter and Captain of the
Yale basketball team, he graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer and the
second leading scorer in Ivy League history. He was drafted in the third round by
the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers in 1984 and enjoyed a brief professional basketball
career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Butch serves on the board of directors of AutoZone, Bermuda Tourism Authority,
and is a Trustee for The Committee For Economic Development. In addition to
serving on numerous non-profit Boards, Mr. Graves is a strong national advocate for
the importance of education and athletics and served as an AAU (Amateur Athletic
Union) head basketball coach for more than 15 years.

GINGER KOLLMANN
Tulsa Market Leader, JPMorgan Chase
Ginger Kollmann is an Executive Director and Head of J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank in
Oklahoma, handling all aspects of the region’s operations while managing a team
of advisors and investment professionals. She strives to provide her clients with
world-class service, directing them to the right resources to help them achieve their
financial goals. Passionate about providing an exceptional experience for each and
every client, Ginger puts her enduring optimism and propensity for efficiency and
organization to work to create a seamless process and stellar environment. She
believes follow- through is the greatest indicator of success, and her thoughtful,
people-oriented approach is evident in the work she delivers as a Private Bank
leader for the Tulsa and Oklahoma City communities.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Ginger spent 12 years in the commercial and wealth
management divisions at the Bank of Oklahoma. She earned a B.S. in Management
Information Systems and Management from Oklahoma State University and
holds FINRA Series 7, 9, 10, and 63 licenses. Ginger is a board member of the Tulsa
Regional Chamber of Commerce, a Trustee for the Tulsa Stadium Trust, a graduate
of Leadership Tulsa, and an emeritus board member of the Parent Child Center
of Tulsa. Born and raised in the state, she comes from a long line of Oklahomans.
When not in the office, Ginger spends much of her time with her husband Dave
and at the school and sporting events of her three children, Grant, Reed and Neely.

43

RACQUEL ODENBLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Head of National Sales, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Racquel Oden is Head of National Sales for Chase Consumer Banking responsible1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
for servicing over 20 million customers with direct responsibility for over $980 billionECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
in deposits and investments leading 40,000+ employees. In her previous role, she
was the Northeast Division Director, managing their Consumer Banking and Wealth
Management business. In the division she served 4.9 million customers with over
$300 billion in deposits and investments overseeing 10,000 associates and advisors.
As the Division Director, she defined frameworks for bankers and advisors, driving
transformative initiatives to develop strategies to enhance and evolve the client
experience.
Previously, Ms. Oden was an executive member at Merrill Lynch, where she spent
eight years in several leadership roles. Her most recent role was Market Executive
of the flagship New York Fifth Avenue Market, the firm’s largest market with more
than 250 advisors serving high net worth individuals and institutions with over $35
billion in assets under management. Prior to that, she was Head of Advisor Strategy
and Development, responsible for coaching the firm’s 14,000 advisors and leading
initiatives designed to recruit and train the next generation, and before that, Head
of Global Product Strategy & Business Development where she oversaw the team’s
new product business development supporting all channels within Global Wealth
& Investment Management. Before Merrill Lynch, Ms. Oden spent over ten years
at UBS in various senior capacities, including Managing Director Head of Global
Product Internal Sales, Managing Director of Client Experience for Banking, and
Head of Merger & Acquisition Integration.

JOHN W. ROGERS, JR.
Chairman, Co-CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments
John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father began buying him
stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. His interest in equities grew at Princeton
University, where he majored in economics, and over the two-plus years he worked
as a stockbroker for William Blair & Company, LLC. In 1983, John founded Ariel
to focus on patient, value investing within small- and medium-sized companies.
While our research capabilities have expanded across the globe, patience is still the
disciplined approach that drives the firm today. Early in his career, John’s investment
acumen brought him to the forefront of media attention and culminated in him being
selected as Co-Mutual Fund Manager of the Year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance
magazine as well as an All-Star Mutual Fund Manager by USA TODAY. Furthermore,
John has been highlighted alongside legendary investors Warren Buffett, Sir John
Templeton and Ben Graham in the distinguished book: The World’s 99 Greatest
Investors by Magnus Angenfelt. His professional accomplishments extend to the
boardroom where he is a member of the board of directors of McDonald’s, NIKE
and The New York Times Company. John also serves as vice chair of the board
of trustees of the University of Chicago. In 2008, John was awarded Princeton
University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to
the alumnus or alumna whose career embodies a commitment to national service.
Following the election of President Barack Obama, John served as co-chair for the
Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009, and more recently, he joined the Barack
Obama Foundation’s Board of Directors. John received an AB in economics from
Princeton University, where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team.

44

LUZ URRUTIA BLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Chief Executive Officer, Accion Opportunity Fund, American Express
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Luz Urrutia joined Opportunity Fund as CEO in 2017. Luz is helping to scale 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
the non-profit CDFI to deepen its impact in California and expand nationwide.
Already the nation’s leading nonprofit small business lender – with over
$170 million in small business loans under management – Luz is focused on
expanding nationally and quadrupling impact nationally by 2025.
Under Luz’s leadership, in 2020, Opportunity Fund and Accion, The US
Network, joined forces to establish Accion Opportunity Fund – developing
new products, establishing new partnerships, and promoting research and
financial education to support mission-driven lending.
Luz spent her career in banking and financial services and has won numerous
awards for her leadership in the field. She began her career at Wachovia
before founding El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad. As VP of Retail Sales and
Services at Oportun, Luz’s team expanded Oportun’s footprint across five
states. In 2016, Luz joined Dollar Financial Group as CEO for the Americas to
help transform the organization into a responsible consumer finance lender
for underserved communities.
Currently, she is a Board member for the Silicon Valley Community Foundation
and a member of the Community Advisory Council for the San Francisco
Federal Reserve.

CHRISTINA WHATLEY
Director, Generation Investment Management
Christina Whatley is a Director on the Growth Equity team at Generation
Investment Management, a sustainability-centered investment firm based
in San Francisco and London. Christina joined Generation from Hall Capital
Partners where she was a Senior Associate on the Private Equity team with
a focus on impact-related investments. Prior to her time at Hall Capital,
Christina spent 5 years at Bank of America in a myriad of roles including
three years as an Associate with the BAML Capital Access Funds, a $2 billion
impact-focused private equity Fund of Funds, where she was focused on
due diligence and portfolio management. Prior to joining Bank of America
in 2012, Christina was an Investment Banking Analyst at William Blair &
Company in Corporate Finance, specifically dedicated to the Business
Services Group with a focus on sell-side mergers and acquisitions.
Christina graduated Cum Laude from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia
with a B.A. in Economics and International Studies and from the Yale School
of Management with her M.B.A.

45

RANDOLPH F. WIGGINS (“RANDY”)BLACK COMMERCE STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Venture Partner, Atento Capital
Managing Director, Build in Tulsa1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Randolph F. Wiggins (“Randy”) serves as Venture Partner at Atento CapitalECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
and Managing Director of Build in Tulsa, the national and multi-sector effort
to rebuild and revive Black Wall Street by attracting Black high-growth tech
entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from across America and providing
their companies and funds with the financial backing, relationships,
partnerships, and entrepreneurial supports required for breakout success.
Prior to joining Build in Tulsa, Randy served as Vice President of Growth and
Operations for Reading Tree China, a Chinese artificial intelligence-powered
education services company; Executive Co-Lead of Princeton Alumni Angels
(Silicon Valley), Princeton’s Silicon Valley angel investing community; and
Manager on the Tech and Society team at Omidyar Network, the founder of
eBay’s impact investing and venture capital fund. There, he co-led the team’s
efforts to prevent, mitigate, correct the societal downsides of technology –
and maximize impact through investments in and strategic partnerships with
ventures positively impacting Silicon Valley and its associated companies,
teams and products. Before joining Omidyar Network, Randy spent time in
Shanghai and Beijing with leadership from KKR China and consulted on the
promise and impact of artificial intelligence on labor, economies, education,
and society in China. Prior to his move to Silicon Valley and the technology
and venture capital sectors, Randy built a career in policy - a highlight of
which was his work under Lawrence S. Summers in the United States National
Economic Council in the Obama White House to help rebuild the American
economy following The Great Recession.
Randy holds a B.A. from Princeton University, where he majored in public
policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and
a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. Randy is a proud inaugural member of
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Millennium Scholarship Program – a
$1.6 billion effort funded by Bill and Melinda Gates to promote academic
excellence; increase diverse representation in areas like computer science
and engineering; and develop a deep bench of future leaders to help build
a stronger society and protect the future of the US economy.

46

11:00AM - 11:45AM Black Wealth Creating & Ending the Racial Wealth Gap: AGENDA
How to Create Cross Generational Wealth Through Financial Literacy,
LEGACY HALL Group Economics & The Lessons of The Black Wall Street

11:55AM - 12:40PM WELCOME & INTRO:

2ND FLOOR A - D Steve Bradshaw, President & CEO, Bank of Oklahoma

LEGACY HALL KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

12:50PM - 1:35PM Hill Harper, Founder/CEO, TheBlackWallStreet.com
Award-winning Actor, Best-selling Author, Philanthropist
2ND FLOOR A - D
LEGACY HALL Seminar: Financial Foundations - Managing Debt and Building Savings

WELCOME REMARKS: TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Sam Combs, III, Founding Partner & CEO, Comstar Advisors

SPEAKER:

Tony Porter, Consumer Area Manager, Bank of Oklahoma

Panel: Retirement Planning - Maximizing Health and Wealth

PANELISTS:

Aerika Morris, Institutional Client Advisor, Bank of Oklahoma Financial
Kristi Rodriguez, Vice President , Nationwide Retirement Institute,

Nationwide
George Nichols, III, President & CEO, The American College of

Financial Services

Seminar: Building Wealth - Investing in Your Goals

WELCOME REMARKS:

E. Paul Samuels, Senior Vice President-Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley

SPEAKER:

TC Alexander, Branch Business Banking Regional Manager, Bank of Texas

Panel: Cryptocurrency, Decentralization & Owning Our Technology:
How to Leverage Technology for Black Wealth & Self Sovereignty

MODERATOR:

Hill Harper, Founder/CEO, TheBlackWallStreet.com
Award-winning Actor, Best-selling Author, Philanthropist

PANELISTS:

Najah Roberts, Founder & CEO, Crypto Blockchain Plug
Lamar Wilson, Founder, Sunjoined & Black Bitcoin Billionaires Club
Roland Martin, Host and Managing Editor, #RolandMartinUnfiltered
Kenneth Kelly, Chairman & CEO, First Independence Bank

BLACK WEALTH STREET PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

INDIVIDUALS / FAMILIES

47

TC ALEXANDERBLACK WEALTH STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
SVP Business Banking Sales Manager, BOK Financial
TC Alexander is a SVP, Business Banking Sales Manager for BOK Financial.1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
TC has been in banking 18 years specializing in helping Business Owners withECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
their banking needs.
TC is passionate about helping business owners regardless of the size of their
business or the industry and prides himself on being a trusted advisor for all
who will listen.
TC is originally from Lawton Oklahoma and a graduate of Cameron University.
TC is married to his wife Gladys and they have 3 children Nicholas, Daniela and
Joey. When not working TC enjoys spending time with his two grandchildren
Noah and Selah and spending time with family and friends.

STEVE BRADSHAW
President & CEO, BOK Financial
Steve Bradshaw is president and CEO of BOK Financial Corporation, a $43
billion regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He
leads a team that oversees a diverse portfolio of services for commercial,
consumer, and wealth management clients with banking centers in eight
states, including high-growth markets such as Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth,
Denver and Phoenix. BOK Financial also operates a number of national
lines of business including energy services, healthcare banking, trading and
brokerage, mortgage origination and TransFund, a top 10 electronic funds
transfer network. Bradshaw became the chief executive at BOK Financial in
January of 2014.
Bradshaw joined the company in 1991 when he sold his wholly-owned retail
brokerage business to BOK Financial. Over the next 23 years, he built the
investment and consumer businesses for the organization.
Bradshaw earned his bachelor’s degree in business finance from the University
of Central Oklahoma and graduated with distinction from the Southwestern
Graduate School of Banking at SMU in Dallas.
Very active in the community, Bradshaw is the past chair for the Tulsa Regional
Chamber and is former chairman of its convention and visitor’s bureau, Visit
Tulsa. He serves on the board of directors of Oklahoma State University’s Lew
Wentz Foundation, and formerly a trustee on the University of Tulsa board.

48

SAMUEL COMBS III BLACK WEALTH STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
President and CEO of COMSTAR Advisors, LLC
TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH
Samuel Combs III is the founding principal and chief executive officer of COMSTAR 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Advisors, a management advisory and private investment firm specializing in
leadership strategy, governance, business development, and regulatory affairs.
He oversees COMSTAR’s portfolio of private investments in the financial services,
healthcare, infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, and renewable energy sectors
primarily focused on growth-oriented middle-market companies.
Before COMSTAR, Sam was president of ONEOK Distribution Companies, one of
three reporting segments of the Fortune 500 diversified energy company, ONEOK,
Inc. ONEOK is a major provider of natural gas and natural gas liquids infrastructure
and midstream services. ONEOK Distribution was the legacy and predecessor
business to NYSE spin-off, ONE Gas, Inc. Among the nation’s largest natural gas
utility operators, serving some 2.2 million retail, wholesale, industrial, and municipal
customers through its multi-state operating divisions. As a C-suite member, Sam led
the Company’s distribution segment through a historic and transformative period
of market expansion and operational consolidation along with multiple years of
record profits and growth in returns on capital invested. He advanced through
operations, engineering, marketing, and executive roles including, being president
of the Oklahoma Natural Gas Company division, before retiring after 25 years. Also,
he gained valuable experience at Boeing, John Deere, Southwestern Bell, and AT&T.
Sam serves as a strategic advisor to affiliated investment and other companies; and
is a director of First Fidelity Bank, a growing $2.3 billion financial services provider
in Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma. He is a member of the bank’s Audit and
Compensation Committees and chairman of the Governance Committee. Combs
is part-owner and an executive committee member of the WNBA Dallas Wings
and served on the WNBA Board of Governors and its Labor Relations Committee.
He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and pursuing
certification in Cyber-Risk Oversight; the Executive Leadership Council; Sigma Pi
Phi, Inc., a professional fraternity; Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers; and is
a former Southern Gas Association board member.
Sam has long engaged in community development as a past president of Leadership
Oklahoma and currently as a trustee and former board chairman of Tulsa Community
College. He is a board member of Ascension St. John Hospital, John Hope Franklin
Center for Reconciliation, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Combs is a founding
board member of Tulsa’s soon-to-be dedicated Greenwood Rising History Center.
Sam has twice been recognized as being among the “50” and then “75” most
influential African Americans in corporate America by Black Enterprise Magazine.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from
Oklahoma State University and is an Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor
Society member. He is a graduate of the Executive Program at Michigan Ross School
of Business; the corporate Directors’ Consortium at the Stanford Graduate School
of Business; and has completed executive studies at the Columbia, Chicago-Booth,
and Harvard Graduate Schools of Business.

49

HILL HARPERBLACK WEALTH STREET | SPEAKER BIOS
Founder/CEO, TheBlackWallStreet.com
Award-winning Actor, Best-selling Author and Philanthropist1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE CENTENNIAL COMMISSION
Hill Harper is a humanitarian, an award-winning actor, best-selling author,ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT DAY
entrepreneur, health and wellness ambassador/educator and philanthropist.
Currently, Harper stars in ABC’s #1 television drama, The Good Doctor, for its 4th
season, and will be hosting his new podcast, COMMAS, premiering in April 2021.
In theaters, Harper can be seen in Warner Bros. Pictures film A Sun Is Also A Star
starring Yara Shahidi.
In addition to his performing career, Harper has authored four New York Times
bestsellers: Letters to a Young Brother, Letters to a Young Sister, The Conversation,
and The Wealth Cure which chronicled his diagnosis with thyroid cancer and his
journey to health. Letters to a Young Brother won several awards and was named
“Best Book for Young Adults” by the American Library Association in 2007. Harper
has been recognized with seven NAACP Image Awards, four of them for his writing.
His latest book, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother, which speaks to the current
mass incarceration crisis, was released to critical acclaim and was nominated for
several awards.
Harper is the founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, a nonprofit
dedicated to empowering underserved youth through mentorship, scholarship
and grant programs.
Harper graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts
degree and was named Valedictorian of his department. He then graduated cum
laude with a J.D. from Harvard Law School, as well as with a Master’s Degree in
Public Administration, with honors, from the Kennedy School of Government. He
holds honorary doctoral degrees from Howard University, Winston-Salem State
University, Cheyney University, Le-Moyne Owen College, Westfield State College,
Dillard University and Tougaloo College.
Amongst his other titles, Harper is a successful businessman and entrepreneur. He
is co-owner of the award-winning New Orleans hotel, International House, and a
successful coffee franchise in downtown Detroit called The Roasting Plant. Harper
also owns several commercial and residential rental properties in Los Angeles and
Newark, NJ.
Harper served on the President’s Cancer Panel having been appointed by President
Obama in 2011, is on the Board of Directors, Black Bank Fund, and has been named
Honorary National Co-Chair of the Redevelopment of Black Wall Street, Greenwood
Chamber of Commerce.
Harper’s passion for business, financial literacy, and social & economic justice keeps
him on the forefront and in-demand as a speaker worldwide.

50